1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector mountable on a panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
A connector assembly that is mountable on a panel is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-245886. This assembly includes a male connector that is mounted in a mount hole of a panel and a female connector with a lever. The lever normally remains in a standby position, but can be operated to engage the two connectors and to hold the connectors in a properly connected state.
Part of the female connector and the lever project at the outer side of the panel, and therefore require space. However, the connector may be mounted near a hinge of a door panel of an automotive vehicle, and there may be insufficient space around the body panel when the door is closed. Thus, it is difficult to use this type of a standby-type lever connector in these situations.
Accordingly, consideration has been given to a construction that connects the two connectors beforehand. The already connected connectors then are mounted in the mount hole of the panel, such that the connectors and the lever are at the inner side of the panel. However, the connection is concealed at the inner side of the panel, and it is difficult to detect by eye whether the connectors are connected properly. Accordingly, there has been a demand for a means to detect the connected state before the connector is mounted on the panel.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to detect whether a connector is connected properly.
The invention is directed to a connector that is fittable into a mount hole of a panel. The connector comprises first and second housings that are connected with each other. The housings comprise a connection detecting means with at least one movable detector that is at a standby position where the movable detector does not interfere with an edge of the mount hole when the housings are connected properly. However, the movable detector is displaceable to an interfering position where the movable detector interferes with the edge of the mount hole when the housings are connected only partly.
The movable detector is at the standby position when the housings are connected properly. Thus, the housings can be mounted into the mount hole. However, the movable detector is at the interfering position when the housings are connected only partially. Hence the movable detector interferes with the edge of the mount hole, and a partly connected state of the housings can be detected.
The first housing may have a lever that is pivotal near the outer surface of the first housing. The lever may comprise a cam groove and the second housing may have a cam follower. The housings are connected by pivoting the lever so that the cam follower and moves along the cam groove. The lever preferably is substantially U-shaped and a transverse space between outer surfaces of the lateral arms is slightly narrower than the mount hole.
The movable detector preferably is formed on the lever. The movable detector normally is at the standby position, but may be displaced resiliently to the interfering position. A pusher may be formed on the outer surface of the housing for pushing the movable detector from inside to resiliently displace the movable detector to the interfering position when the lever is at a partial connection position.
The housings can be connected with a small operation force due to the leverage action of the lever. Thus, a connecting operation can be done by one hand and the connector is suitable for use in a narrow space. Further, the movable detector is at the standby position without being pushed by the pusher when the housings are connected properly. Thus, the two housings can be mounted into the mount hole. The lever is at the partial connection position when the housings are connected partially and the pusher pushes the movable detector to the interfering position. Thus, the movable detector interferes with the edge of the mount hole.
The pusher preferably projects from the outer surface of the first housing and has an arcuate shape extending along a trace of rotation of the movable detector. A substantially arcuate escape groove is formed in the inner surface of the lever for avoiding interference with the pusher.
The pusher projects from the outer surface of the housing, and the escape groove for avoiding interference with the pusher is formed in the inner surface of the lever. Thus, the connector can be made smaller by making a small clearance between the outer surface of the housing and the inner surface of the lever.
The movable detector preferably is formed with at least one slanted pushable portion for contacting the pusher.
The movable detector may be resiliently displaceable from the standby position to the interfering position and biased toward the standby position.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are described separately, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.